During high school and college, I helped prepare nearly every dish for our Thanksgiving feast, other than the turkey. My dad handled that, preferring to barbecue it outside on his charcoal grill, and I stayed firmly planted in the kitchen, carefully reading our well-worn family recipe cards, measuring ingredients, and mixing them together by hand until tantalizing aromas wafted throughout the entire house.
Despite small gatherings with no more than six people, we still cooked enough to feed a small army. Stuffing, cranberry salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, whole wheat bread rolls… And especially dessert.
At the bare minimum, we baked both a pumpkin pie and pecan pie completely from scratch. Anything else, whether soft pumpkin cookies or cozy pumpkin cheesecake or other festive treats, was always welcome at the table — but those two pies were absolutely mandatory. Certain family members might have mutinied and jokingly refused to join us or headed to neighbors’ houses instead if we didn’t serve both!
We always ended up with leftovers of everything, so the morning after, when I pulled open the refrigerator to reach for slices of whole grain bread for toast or the carton of milk to splash into cereal for breakfast, those two pies stared back at me… Tempting me with their flaky crusts and sweet fillings and oh so irresistible flavors.
On multiple occasions, I nearly caved and snuck a slice. With its luxuriously creamy texture and extra cozy spices, the pumpkin was my favorite! A small piece of that for breakfast sounded like pure bliss, yet I rarely mustered up the courage to follow through. I didn’t want to upset anyone else by eating more than my fair share of the pies!
I would’ve looked straight past the pies and immediately reached for these healthy pumpkin oatmeal breakfast cookies if they were in our refrigerator on that day though — or any other fall morning! They remind me of pumpkin pie with their cozy spiced flavor, and they have the same texture as regular “dessert” oatmeal cookies. However…
Unlike those Thanksgiving pies, these definitely qualify as a breakfast food! They’re also portable and wonderful for busy mornings, meal prepping, and make-ahead breakfasts or snacks. (Whether for kids, teens, adults… Or all of the above!)
Continue reading & see the rest! ›› Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
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